For many wedding businesses, being small is a plus point. Brides and grooms really appreciate the individual attention and personalised service they get from wedding suppliers who are passionate about what they do and are not just employed by a big company.
But being small and personal doesn’t mean you can get away with being unprofessional. Those couples still expect everything to run smoothly with immaculate attention to detail.
So little things matter.
Here are 5 common mistakes I see that simply give away the fact that the business isn’t paying attention to those small details:
A website that says “Free website by …….”
When you use one of those free website builder options, the chances are you have to display a message in the footer advertising the software. There are lots of good reasons why you shouldn’t use these website builders (most of them look terrible, for a start) but if you absolutely must, don’t advertise the fact to everyone.
Poor photos
It’s easy to tell who has bothered to invest in professional photography. Crisp and beautifully styled photos really make your products stand out. Dim, blurry shots with that all-too-common grey tinge look like you’ve taken snaps with your phone (you didn’t, did you?).
Social media rants
I once followed a fascinating, but wholly inappropriate, conversation by a wedding planner on Twitter. Detailing all the gory details of her relationship break-up. And just for added effect, her Twitter feed was displaying on her website home page.
It’s one thing to show some personality in your social media posts. Quite another to let your potential clients see the “warts and all” version of your life.
Don’t. Do. It.
Letting your kids answer the phone
Many of us in the wedding industry work from home and juggle business with family. And these days brides expect you to be available outside standard office hours. But make sure you have clear boundaries set. And if you’re in the middle of a domestic crisis, the baby is screaming and the dog is barking – you shouldn’t answer the phone either.
Either hire a telephone answering service or record a professional voicemail message – and use it.
Using a Gmail (or Hotmail or similar) email address
This just screams “amateur”. It costs very little to get a proper domain name and email address for your business, so there is no excuse. And your emails are less likely to end up in spam folders.
They may seem trivial, but all these things signal to your potential customers that maybe you’re not to be trusted with their big day. Believe me, they notice…….